Tangled fates
by TheButtStabber
Summary: A rather weird situation that of our mutant protagonist. A dilemma like no other in which he certainly wish he had not gotten in even if, over time, he might was able to adapt to the new world presented before their eyes to see that people are not so bad and even be able to unsheathe the sword to protect those who managed to get close to his cold witcher heart. OC witcher.
1. The fall

The horrifying and piercing screech from the vampire could only be compared with the cries of sadness and despair from the sorceress, the witcher being the only one to remain calm on the outside, this being a product of his emotionless trait...yet still there was rage and hate burning inside of him through his eyes.

Geralt laid on the ground with a small pool of his own blood and a deep cut across the chest that pierced through his armor like nothing. He should have waited, waited for him and Yen to arrive, but he didn't... and he didn't knew of how much his strength had dwindled since he settled in Corvo Bianco for good this time. "Shit" he muttered beneath his breath in a pained way.

His son, the other witcher was standing in front on him with his silver on his hand in a stance, the stance he had taught him.

Yennefer was pressing her hands against Geralt's chest while reciting healing spells at the expense of her own lifeforce...this was gonna hurt for her, she knew that but didn't care. That feeling she had in Rivia came back, an horrible feeling.

The vampire lunged himself to them once again.

"Yennefer open up a portal, now..." He said in a cold tone while lowering his sword, preparing himself for the attack.

The sorceress was not able to think it twice and said some words in a forgotten language and an explosive roar of magic made the vampire turn around in surprise to watch the black and golden rift in surprise. The witcher took advantage of this and runned facing the vampire, sheathing his sword and throwing himself at the monster.

The Katakan screeched in surprised while he stumbled back and tried to fight back with his mouth only to encounter a fist to the nose with the silver spikes of the witcher's gloves, the vampire roared in anger but there were just some feet between them and the portal, he smiled. "just a bit further" he muttered.

"N-No! don't even- gah...Yennefer stop it!"

The sorceress couldn't, she was unable now. She needed the vampire to go away so she could heal Geralt in peace. "Take it away and kill that thing...well come back for you" she yelled.

The young witcher nodded his head while cracking his knuckles and before the vampire could even attack, he charged at him and grabbed him by his arms, the force of the charge alone was enough to close the distance and enter the portal that closed just as soon as they entered.

Geralt held up a hand, looking in the way he had disappeared "Lance! get...b-back here damnit..." he fainted.

The other witcher had the feeling that time was stopping, as the seconds seemed like minutes inside the cold black void. This was the first time he traveled in one of Yen's portals and he could understand now why Geralt despised portals so much...though the one that Triss made for him one time wasn't this bad, there was a warm and relaxing sensation when passing through Triss's. Yennefer did make it seem like a bad thing after all.

Neither of one had a voice inside the space within the end of times but the punches seemed to hurt just the same as the witcher struck the belly of the vampire with enough force to make him bend and make a funny expression on reaction to the pain even if he couldn't scream.

"Time's running out" he thought as a new air was entering through his nostrils, a really fast and cold air. The portal was horizontal. "Damn it Yennefer" he thought while grimacing.

The ashes of the last monsters dissipating in the air was a relieving sign for the four girls standing amidst a Forever Falls forest. Team RWBY took a quick rest on top of a dissipating Ursa.

"That was a good warmup" Said Ruby with a sigh while stretching her arms.

"Warm up? We've been fighting Grimm about almost two hours straight. I can't even move a muscle..." Weiss sat on the ground while panting for air, looking for a break.

"Oh c'mon, it wasn't thaaat bad" Stated Yang with a grin in her face while looking like she hadn't even started. "Now let's, we still have more Grimm ass to kick yet."

"Agreed. The professor gave us a task. We shall carry through it to the end. It's what our job it's about" Said Blake using a rather inspiring tone. Weiss groaned.

"Yeah, yeah...just give me a sec"

Ruby let out a small laugh and they started to talk about stuff while resting their legs a bit. Suddenly a fiery explosion coming from above put them on alert and looking at the sky.

A black tear in space spat out two weird humanoid figures. The first one was human looking indeed, White hair, strange clothing and what it seemed to be two swords on his back. This first one was attached to the other that didn't resemble a human at all, looking like a beast that was pulled out from a children worst nightmare with slim legs and arms and long claws at the end of its fingers not to mention all of the greyish fur covering him.

The witcher hit the monster once again and grabbed it by the throat, making sure the beast was at the receiving end of the fall which was quick and almost painless thanks to his plan to cushion the fall with the former vampire. Though the Katakan seemed unphased by this when he kicked the witcher away from him and near the four girls.

The girls held up their weapons in a stance but Ruby came in closer the man to address the situation. "What...What's going on?! Who are you?! You alright?!" She said while looking how he got up in silence.

He didn't reply at none of the former questions. They were able to admire the antique, yet rather safe looking, battle armor made out of steel plates on the shoulders while the chest and torso were covered by a red leather jacket that was reinforced with a chain mail cover. An interesting number of leather brown colored belts that were around his torso and waist in order to be able to carry his bombs, oils and potions with leather tactical pouches and a sheathed dagger attached to the back side of his belt. Yet the most outstanding of all were the two long swords neatly attached to his back inside of their sheathes.

This man didn't pay any attention to the girls, neither did the vampire at the moment as the two were closing in on each other with slow movements.

The breathing of the witcher was slow, relaxed. Looking concentrated like he wasn't scared at all while the girls looked terrified at the sight of the vile creature.

"When I'm done with you, I'll be back to finish my work with that witcher...then I'll get the sorceress she should be delicious, yeah..." The witcher did not respond at the taunt.

The girls were looking at the otherworldly situation with shock.

"Giiiirls...what do we do?" asked Weiss with a little bit of panic in her voice.

Ruby took the lead while snapping out of her trance and drawing her scythe with a twirl. "Think we got who's the bad one...we gotta help!"

Her blonde sister quickly got in the way "Ruby I don't think it's a good idea. It looks dangerous. We should report back to Ozpin as soon as possible, he'll send backup."

''Yeah, we don't even know what is that thing we shou-"

The terrifying roar of the vampire interrupted Blake.

"And where do YOU think you're going?!" The vampire made quick dash for the girls while raising one of his claws towards them "You are virgins! You shall make an exquisite meal!" He moved in to the closer one, Yang. They weren't even able to follow the movements of the vampire but they did hear his pained scream as a dismembered monstrous looking arm was flying in the air while painting the orange leaves in the ground with red. The monster retreated a couple of steps back.

''What a shame, you looked like a good catch. Hungry and mindless for blood, like all you inferior brethren...'' The witcher mocked while holding his sword up with his two hands in front of the girls, when did he get there? He must have a speed semblance like Ruby's...

Ruby admired the weapon, a distinct color to this one...was it made of silver?

''Stay close, it's dangerous. If you leave now, he's surely to hunt you down faster than I can get to him." he said nonchalantly with his eyes up front, looking at his enemy.

Ruby snapped and shook her head "We can help you fight we're-''

''I saw your reaction time. You'll only kill yourself. Stay behind me if you want to live.'' He interrupted. Ruby wanted to retort but she knew he was right; she took a step back while grabbing her sister's hand.

''Thanks...'' Yang muttered still stunned by the events.

''Just stay back." He replied coldly raising his sword in a stance.

The vampire roared once more and lunged at the witcher. Ruby and Blake took their chances and shooted at the vampire multiple times yet the monster seemed unfazed by this.

"Imposible!" Blake yelled while Ruby was shocked once again at the invulnerability of the monster for her rounds.

They noticed how the witcher wasn't moving at all, just waiting with his sword up. The monster stretched his only armed in an attack, barely half a meter of distance in between.

''LOOK OUT" Ruby yelled.

The young man stretched his hand and did a weird movement with his finger, he casted Aard and the vampire was drawled back by the telekinetic invisible force that made him loose his footing.

The witcher spared no time to the monster and slashed at the vampire's chest with a smirk full of malice. The katakan winced in pain and took a step back only to be closed in by the witcher.

The vampire tried to retaliate but his hand encountered the silver blade that immediately burned his skin and made him yell in pain.

"How d'ya like that silver?" he asked with a smile.

''FUCK YOU" The beast retorted in a monstrous scream.

The witcher snorted while taking a couple of steps back in order to reposition himself.

"Funny huh? I want to see you laugh when I make you watch your own intestines!'' Answered the vampire with rage.

''Shut up and fight" said the witcher with a serious expression, he held his sword at an odd pose, unknown to the Beacon students.

With soundproof and light steps, the vampire shortened the distance going for a bite to the neck, this was easily stopped on the form of a golden force field surrounding the young white haired witcher who was holding his hand in the sing of Quen. The witcher exploded the sing and made the vampire stumble backwards, he capitalized in this quickly by throwing what it seemed to be a small shiny blade at the monster, the knife graced the vampire's neck "Damnit...'' the witcher clicked his tongue at the miss.

The vampire retreated once again, this time taking more distance between the prey.

"Wha-What is that thing!? Can you at least explain what's going on?!" Weiss was holding her weapon tightly with both hands, the fear in her voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Katakan, lesser vampire" The response was short, quick and lacking emotion. "Gonna turn invisible..."

''What?!" Blake yelled while staring at the monster, a mysterious and thick fog was beginning to surround them as the vampire rapidly disappeared into the trees, a screech could be heard from afar.

''Whe-Where is it?!" Ruby panicked while pointing the end of her scythe to the woods, trying to see it, her hands where trembling.

"Oh god, where gonna die, aren't we?" Weiss finally lost it "I'm too young to die! I have an entire dust company waiting for me!''

"And I never got a really handsome boyfriend!" Yang cried.

"And I... And I...I regret not eating more tuna before coming here!" Blake let out some pained tears of sadness.

"Shut the hell up, damnit!" The voice of the witcher silenced them quickly as he put his hand up to calm them down. "It's going to be okay...just keep your mouths shut." and with that the witcher put his hand on the ground and drew an hourglass sign in the soil "Yrden..." he said calmly and then the witcher and the students were surrounded by a circle of glowing violet glyphs, the girls were amazed.

"Are you a mage?"

The witcher chuckled in response to the blonde's question "wouldn't dream of it. Keep quiet now." They obeyed.

He sighed lightly, closed his eyes and concentrated his senses. there was a weird aroma in the air, the smell of a cat yet no cat in sight...that was weird but managed to put it aside. Sound, that is what he looked for, when a Katakan becomes invisible only means one thing, he's gonna deliver a nasty blow, without a sound from their feet or at the least not a sound that was audible to common folk. He took a step to the left and threw a moon dust bomb which impacted into nothingness to soon reveal the vampire outlines by the silver shards on the bomb. He was not common folk. The vampire didn't stop however and proved successful when he landed a blow in the witcher's chest, sending him meters back but not making him fall...he was bleeding nonetheless, the cut wasn't deep, just flesh luckily.

The witcher was getting tired, he let out a breath and grabbed his sword in reverse. "C'mon...come closer, bitch." he taunted.

The vampire responded with a roar and charged forward for the kill, that didn't happen.

Another grenade exploded in the face of the katakan, a grapeshot bomb this time that burned the face of the beast and maked him cry in pain while standing up in its two feet. The witcher took advantage quickly and closed the distance finally, seeing how the bomb buyed him the needed time he pressed forward with another step and delivered the killing blow, chopping off the head, however he could not predict the final defense move of the vampire which consisted in burying his claws onto his left shoulder, the witcher grunted in pain.

''Damnit...least is finally over" he said speaking to himself.

The kid in red noticed and tried to get closer "he-hey! you okay?" The witcher held up his right hand in the air.

Yang grabbed her sister's hand and made back down a step. "be careful...he could be dangerous.''

''He saved us, Yang" Ruby looked at her sternly, the blonde one just sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Hey, mysterious dude. You good?!" Yang asked as he watched how the young man grabbed a fallen tree branch and squeezed it between his teeth while he pulled out the claws from his shoulder. He winced in pained and broke the branch but he pulled it out, the girls looked grossed out except for Ruby who offered help as she kneeled down beside him.

"Are you okay? That looks bad...''

The witcher looked at her in the eye. "Silver eyes...intriguing."

"What?" Ruby blushed lightly.

"Sorry, never seen eyes with that color..." The man kneeled on the ground and took out a small glass bottle that he uncorked with his teeth and quickly drank its content. His skin seemed paler in a moment but Ruby leaned in closer to see how the wounds were closing themselves with inhuman speed, even for someone with a strong aura.

"Woooow...what...what was that?" she asked bewildered.

"Potion...healing one."

"That's so cool! Can you give me the recipe?!" Ruby beamed with a smile. The witcher seemed weirded out by her careless attitude.

"Witcher potions are toxic for normal people, it could kill you in a matter of seconds even if you took a sip. Only works on witchers''

"What's a Witcher?" Well that put him out of place, he looked at his surroundings and he didn't recognize the place. He looked at the girls and scanned their outfits with his eyes.

"We can't be in Ofiri...no place like this one there...Zerrikania seems like a good guess, but they surely must have heard about witchers there" He was thinking, considering the possibilities. This was getting weird.

"Where am I?" He asked. Another girl, the black haired one came closer.

"Forever Fall, outskirts of vale, were near the border with Blackmarsh. Heavy Grimm territory"

"Heavy what?" the man stood up, looking at them with confusion. "Which way's Toussaint?" He needed a marker, a way of orienting himself. "Are we close the sea? Where's Nilfgaard from here?''

"What's this Tusaant?" Asked the white-haired girl with a rare tone on his voice.

"Yeah, and this Niflgar? What are you talking about? I never heard of those places in Remnant." The blonde one sounded annoyed, more like he was taking them for fools.

The witcher replied with concern "Remnant? What's Remnant?"

The four girls looked at each other with confusion. The one with silver eyes responded. "Remnant is...our home...our planet."

The head of the man snapped to the girl, he looked at her eyes looking for the slightest shine of deceive...he found none.

"Fuck..." he cursed under his breath, everything made sense now. He looked at the sky and saw the shattered moon, there was no way this was his home. "Yennefer where the hell did you sent me?" he said in a low tone.

The others were drawn back in silence until Yang decided to get some answers

''Well...can you at least tell what that thing was? you said it was a vampire" her tone seemed somewhat reluctant not really believing what he had said in the heat of the battle.

"Katakan, lesser vampire indeed'' He nodded paying no mind to her tone, he stood up and took a step forward to the beheaded beast. "You don't know what a vampire is?"

''No, no... it's just...only ever heard about those in stories for children and movie stuff...you know, Dracula and that?" Weiss said, taking a look at the monster.

''I have no recollection of this...Dracula. But if you were wandering, they are real...see for yourself.''

The beast obviously looked otherworldly, yet it didn't resemble vampires like the movies or books back in home. The witcher grabbed the head without a single sing of disgust and opened its mouth, revealing the long teeth and fangs. ''Believe me, now?'' he said nonchalantly.

The girls turned their heads away, grossed out.

"Anyway...it's dead so it won't come out to bite you anytime soon." the man threw the head at the side of the corpse and casted Igni, the fur of the vampire lit wildly with fire.

''What are you doing?'' Blake asked.

"Burning it, that'll prevent that a necrophage or...anything else from consuming it.'' He replied, stretching his shoulders.

''Necrophages?'' Ruby asked with concern.

The witcher paused at the question...if they didn't knew about vampires was it possible that? No... unlikely.

The witcher turned around and began walking in a random direction, that got the attention from the girls.

''Hey! Where are you going?!'' Yang asked

"Saw a hill, I could spot a village nearby. Try to get some rest and get my thoughts in order'' he replied without stopping.

Team RWBY looked at each other sharing the same thought. Ozpin should know about this.

''We have an idea; you can come with us.'' Ruby said taking a step forward, she smiled when she saw the man stopping and turning around.

''Where?''

''Beacon academy, that's where we study. Professor Ozpin might be able to help you...'' she replied.

''Why?'' He looked at her in the eyes, not fully believing her words.

She found herself taking a step back, taken aback by the hostility in his tone.

''You saved us, remember?'' Yang said, looking at him, not liking his tone. ''Like, two minutes ago?''

''And?'' He raised an eyebrow. ''I brought that danger with me; you could've been killed because of me...you really don't owe me anything.''

''What kind of twisted way of thinking is that?" Weiss asked, she glanced at Blake who was calling for a bullhead.

''The witcher way'' he replied coldly.

''As you can see, we are not familiar with that way...you saved us, period. Now can you stop being nasty and accept our help?'' Yang said displeased.

The witcher sighed. This professor might be able to help after all.

''Well...worst case scenario I can just put them down'' He muttered without them hearing, he nodded with his head and accepted. "Very well...if you're good with it.''

''We are...uh...'' Ruby bit her lip for a second ''I think we never heard your name.''

The witcher nodded ''Lance of Beauclair. Witcher''

The girls looked at each other.

''What's a witcher?'' Blake asked.

Lance sighed wearily. "I'll explain on the way to this beacon of yours...c'mon, lead the way''

''Actually'' Weiss smiled proudly. The witcher could hear a weird metal noise closing in on them, the lights of the bullhead shined upon them ''They will take us there''

The witcher raised an eyebrow ''That thing?''

Along the way the girls tried to give a summary of where the young witcher was but, unfortunately, the four spoke at the same time and in different tones that made it impossible to understand so Lance decided to ignore most of what they talked about, However, some things he had been able to understand, such as dust and its various uses. The Huntsmen and Huntresses, their resemblances to the witcher but more... oriented to the heroic, the young man was not be surprised to learn that the Huntsman are not very long-lived.

The five returned to the academy in a bullhead, the witcher feeling unable to sit in the passenger seats, looking out the window with a feeling of restlessness inside due to the strange methods of transport and technology possessed by the earthlings of the unknown planet , his eyes swept through the city of Vale quickly, analyzing people, vehicles, clothing, buildings and, of course, he felt incredulous about the technology of...everything. Looking back at the girls Lance could see them talking to a man through what appeared to be a piece of glass that represented the image of the man in question, his voice was also heard.

''A xenovox...incredibly advanced too also to be able to show the face of the other person, amazing.'' he thought

keeping his thoughts to himself, the witcher turned his gaze outward, only to be surprised once again with the sight of a floating mountain with a huge palace above, a shiver ran down his spine.

''So that how other planets looks like...Cirilla wasn't exaggerating''

A small turbulence made him stagger on his feet and lose his balance, falling on the floor. A small growl escaped his lips. He placed his hand against the floor to try to get up when a hand appeared in his range of vision, when he looked up the young blonde who had identified as Yang was casually standing offering help.

''you good? It seems to be your first time in a bullhead.''

Lance nodded, taking her hand and standing looking the blonde in the eye.

''If you remember until a while ago you can recall that I literally fell from another world with a vampire trying to devour me, so yes, I would say that it is my first time in one of these things.

Yang raised an eyebrow.

''sheesh, there's no need for sarcasm'' she said crossing his arms, Ruby just laughed with one hand covering her mouth.

''Common aspect in a witcher, you better not know Geralt he's personification of sarcasm.''

The brunette entered the conversation from the other side of the passenger side.

''Who is Geralt?''

The witcher let go of an amount of air through his nose before avoiding Blake's eyes.

''Let's say it's like my father...he took...care of me.''

''So... you are an orphan?''

Lance shrugged his shoulders

''No idea.''

All the girls looked at him with a frown, except Ruby who seemed confused and decided to ask.

''You do not know?''

''They took me from a very young age, five years, they were alive at that time. I'm not really interested now.'' He lied; they didn't need to know. It would have made things more awkward...sad even.

Weiss got up from his seat.

''They took you? They kidnapped you and this Geralt find you?''

''No, silly, I'm a witcher...'' Lance sighed remembering that he had not yet told them what it meant to be a witcher. Before anyone could ask the significance of the term he decided to interrupt ''I will tell you when we are with this Ozpin man...I do not like to repeat long explanations and honestly, I already talked a lot this day.''

Weiss nodded, still not satisfied without knowing the answer but was still able to wait.

Ruby was going to say something right when Blake spoke.

''I have noticed your eyes...are you a Faunus?''

the sorcerer tilted his head with a neutral expression to look at Blake.

-Faunus?

''People with animal characteristics...'' Blake explained.

The wizard looked surprised.

''the answer to my eyes is that I am a witcher...but I am fascinated to hear about these...faunus. they don't exist where I come from and as I said, I'll explain everything once we're with Ozpin.''

The faunus girl nodded and sighed. finally, Ruby could speak.

''you're good?''

Again, all the girls turned their eyes to the young witcher who looked at Ruby and shook his head and then looked back out the window.

''A world I do not know, technology that I had never seen or heard in my life and so far zero chances to return home and so far the only familiar thing I could recognize were trees, leaves and a...Meanwhile I am flying in a giant steel bird with three seventeen-year-old girls and a fifteen-year-old one who asks me if I'm fine. Forgive me if I am not in my element.''

None dared to speak, none of them would know what to do in a similar situation but entering in immediate panic.

''but...'' the four returned the look to Lance ''you have been kind to me despite being a witcher and given the profession I am used to being involved with strange crap...so it's not so bad.''

Ruby sighed in relief when she saw a slight smile peek over Lance's lips, who had a peaceful look at her.

''I appreciate the concern.''

''There is no reason to! for we are huntresses.'' said the redhead putting her fists clenched at the waist in a heroic pose earning a slight laugh from the witcher, the other girls laughed amused by the childishness of their leader.

The witcher settled against the wall and closed his eyes, telling himself that everything would be fine.


	2. What's a witcher?

The girls were now able to take a closer look to the so called witcher now that they were in Ozpin's office.

Lance inspected the room slightly impressed ''Looks like a mage's house...a really extravagant one at that'' he mumbled.

The witcher had clear signs that he was on the pinnacle of his youth but there was a wearily and tired look on his eyes but maybe that was due to lack of sleep. His white hair, shaved to the sides and somewhat long in the middle tied neatly in a ponytail. There were no signs of a beard and if it weren't for this his acquaintances would say that Lance was just a younger copy of Geralt but without the scars on the right places.

Scars, he was no different than other witcher in that sense, he had two long scars on his left temple that began right below his ear and crossed all the way to the nape. It was long and somewhat deep yet they were almost parallel, this was a sign that something with really shard claws had made the scar...he usually remembered how lucky he was to be alive the time he faced his first manticore, he let out a shuddering breath every time he remembered. There was another visible scar, this one in the right side of his lips, crossing them in a vertical way, this one was short and just seemed to affect his lips and a bit of skin.

There was a strange amulet on his neck, it seemed to be the head of a wolf.

His eyes amber colored, with cat-like pupils, strange trait for someone that wasn't a faunus. His appearance and clothes overall made professor Ozpin very intrigued.

''So... a witcher, hmm...'' Ozpin said thoughtfully as he sipped his coffee and offered a cup of the young man

Lance looked around to find the RWBY team, Professor Glynda Goodwitch as she had said and Professor Ozpin, the director of the institution where they were now. He accepted the infusion.

Ozpin looked out the window a moment before turning around to look Lance in the eye, he couldn't detect any lies just as he couldn't contain his curiosity.

''Are you a faunus?''

Lance denied. ''Nope, just witcher.''

''Would you like to explain in more detail? Please?'' Goodwitch asked somewhat irritated, the young witcher looked at her and nodded slightly. Searching in one of his pockets, he took out a small vial with purple liquid and put it in front of the table, Ozpin came over and took it with his fingers, inspecting it.

''Hmmm...Wolfsbane, verbena, and...'' he brought the vial to his nose and gave him a sniff, determining the last ingredient. ''Aether...this is incredibly toxic; are you a poison maker of sorts?''

The RWBY team was surprised at Ozpin's question, looking at the witcher anonymously. Lance just smiled vaguely and shook his head.

''Not exactly, although my knowledge stretches to the branch of poison chemistry. Allow me.'' The witcher opened his hand, Ozpin gave him the vial and before he could react Lance had already opened it and was drinking his contents in one swallow, Ozpin panicked and quickly approached.

''Mr. Beauclair! Glynda get the RWBY team out of here!''

''LANCE?!'' Ruby screamed in a desperate manner, Yang did not resist the impulse and tried to run towards him to help but was retained by Glynda. Weiss and Blake lay incredulous, with their eyes wide open, unable to do anything but to look in shock.

''You shouldn't look at this room for your girls, let's take it to the infirmary and-''

''It's useless, Professor Goodwitch.'' The words the witcher surprised everyone. The world around him decided to stop, as if demanding an explanation. Lance smiled, gesturing to Ozpin with the hand that he was fine. His face had become somewhat paler and the veins on his face markedly outlined in black as a reaction to the toxicity of the potion. ''Unless the nurse is an expert on herbs and very old chemical formulae, it is assumed that any normal person would be stripped of any hope of survival...that being, I think it has become clear that I am not a normal person.''

''That demonstration was not necessary; you scared my students.'' Ozpin declared with discomfort in his voice.

''oh well, a good scare every so often serves to keep the reaction time sharp...''

He sighted and went for a shorter and somewhat vague explanation knowing that explaining the Conjunction theory would take an awful lot of time that he didn't want to spare with them.

''A long, long time ago the world was plagued with wild beasts...I'm not talking about wolves, bears or boars...I mean monsters. Draconids, vampires, ghouls, relicts, elementals, giants, etcetera...and none of these were nor are kind to the human race...a little while later the pagan rituals began to take place and worships from cults with nature gods that were somewhat questionable... giving rise to evil spirits and horrendous abominations created by human hand or seidhe...with all these things around creating chaos a group of alchemists, magicians, warriors, and scholars gathered and began to experiment with humans, in order to...augment them so they could fight monsters, these were called witchers, professional people with the mission of dealing with these threats that we consider supernatural.

Everyone in the room looked dumbfounded, Ruby and her childishness were the only ones who dared to speak.

''Like a hero? Did they kill evil dragons?! That's cool!''

The witcher let out a laugh.

''Not really, the...heroes are usually just bigheaded and good-hearted, usually disinterested for their own good and given to a cause which usually leads them to die. Witchers are not heroes, we just do our job. There is a monster, we look for who pays us to kill it, we kill it, we claim the reward and we go to look for more monsters and more money...and we don't kill dragons, goes against the witchers code.'' he lied at the last part

''And what if there is a monster but the townsfolk can't pay you.'' Ozpin asked. The witcher shrugged his shoulder

''Then we let it be''

''So, nothing else? And if it threatens the lives of the inhabitants?'' Blake asked

"So be it, if one or two villagers die the lord who owns the land will put a post to hunt the beast with a reward, that simple." Lance said naturally.

Ozpin looked incredulous at the young man.

''Who instilled you that twisted logic?''

The witcher shook his head ''No one, it is simply the code of the witchers we must do nothing before we get paid or promises for a payment...however it is not necessary to pay with currency.''

Glynda got into the conversation, tilting her head. ''what does that mean?''

''the witchers, depending on the occasion, we have the chance to summon the law of surprise given the case that the one who issued the contract is unable to pay or is in so much debt that the person can't just pay in coin. The reward consists of 'the first thing that person sees when they enter their home' or 'what you find when you arrive at your home and you don't know what you have' or something like that.''

Everyone looked at him...trying to find sense in his words, Ozpin was the first.

''the children they take...they are the first thing they see, those who come running to receive their mother and father.''

Lance smiled and nodded.

''Usually we take the little ones, no older than nine or ten years, we are able to mold them into adept witchers at that age''.

''Mold them ...? - Ruby asked looking and talking in fear. The witcher responded by nodding.

''They are given extensive training with various weapons and exercises to create an effective constitution, they are taught about monsters with a bestiary and they are taught tactics and strategies to kill these monsters more effectively. From small they are given to drink poisons in small doses to be able to build an abnormal resistance, they are taught alchemy to create formulas to powerful potions with incredible properties but that are highly toxic and would kill any human in a matter of seconds.

The six-present looked at the sorcerer horrified with the explanation, and that had not yet reached the best, or rather worst, part.

''when they are at the ideal age, the apprentices are pass through what is called the Trial of the Grasses, in this test the apprentice is introduced strong chemicals, poisons and mutagens that supernaturally modify the body and senses of the child. This being incredibly painful that three out of ten children survive, those who do get reflexes, speed and superhuman forces with a hypersensitivity to smell and hearing to track beasts and these eyes'' He said pointing at his eyes ''To be able to see in the dark. In addition to that a kind of sixth sense develops to...feel what's around us in a way of some sort. In addition to that, our body gains longevity to live for hundreds of years, we are stripped of emotions, which makes us more resistant to pain and manipulation, and makes us sterile.''

''Sterile? That ... that means that''

''Witchers are unable to have children, yes.'' Lance explained cutting off a disturbed Weiss. ''The test also gives us a small magical susceptibility...which allows us to use minor spells or signs, as it is usually called.''

''The...magic...does magic exist?'' Goodwitch asked incredulously. The sorcerer nodded and with a flick of his fingers small sparks and embers momentarily emerged from his palm.

''After all that they give us the equipment, a horse and send us to the Path, which means that this child is a full trained, combat-ready witcher''

Everyone was stunned for half a minute, the witcher read their faces like a book, they all looked scared, horrified almost, people who did that to the children existed and then those same children became the people who would take the next generation of children...Ozpin was the only one who had an unreadable look, an expression of understanding, maybe...acceptance?

''Returning to the subject, a payment can also be a material object that the person possesses, a sword or a gem, something of value. The law of surprise is something we rarely invoke...I am the last known case of it but it doesn't mean that sorcerers are twisted people who solve your problems in exchange for your children.'' Lance said; the young women looked immediately more relaxed to hear those words.

''The...girls told me you fell out of nowhere...would you like to explain that?''

Lance nodded to Ozpin's question.

Geralt, my witcher father who adopted me from my family and his wife, Yennefer, were behind this vampire for a long time now, this was always managed to escape and it was weeks before It gave new signs of feeding...the vampire and I crossed paths and shortly after following him I met Geralt and Yen, the three of us chased him and confronted him. Geralt was seriously injured and I told Yennefer to open a portal...she is a sorceress, if you were wondering. I pushed along with the Katakan through the portal to get him away from Geralt and prevent him from killing him...but...had I known that the portal would bring me to another planet I would not have made that decision, bad luck.''

Ozpin chuckled at the comment.

''I somewhat can relate to your dilemma.''

''I really doubt you can...yet I feel relieved''

Lance nodded. Ruby couldn't take it anymore.

''That man...Geralt...he...he took you from your true family...and he...did you do all those things...do you still call him father?''

''Ruby!''

''No Yang! That man is a monster! How could he even do that to you'' she looked at Lance with pain, rage and a little bit of pity. The witcher grimaced in return, he didn't need pity.

He looked at Ruby and rose from the chair to approach her, when they were face to face Ruby felt no fear...only sorrow and sadness yet the calm smile of the witcher only shared peace.

''My father was not always the best decision maker...even Yennefer got very angry at him after what happened to me...I hated Geralt for years but I learned to live with it, my father is a good man...he has done incredible things for mankind and I believe he simply did not want to let our profession die...the witchers in my world will always be necessary but...not welcome.

''Do your guys don't get along with ordinary people?'' Blake asked.

The witcher shook his head while glancing at Blake. ''Usually they spit on us or throw stones they fear us because they usually think we're going to kidnap their children...it's necessary to say that I...that we live in a very...primitive era compared to yours where superstitions are very strong...magicians, healers, sorcerers and people of other races such as elves and dwarves are usually persecuted by humans...simply because they are different. We are mutants after all.

''Persecuted you say...?'' Ozpin said tilting his head.

''Usually wizards and sorceresses are burned in bonfires on certain continents and elves and dwarves are highly discriminated, a human could beat an elf to death and a guard or soldier would do nothing...simply by believing themselves superior to them. Witchers do not get this treatment though...ordinary folk hate us...yet they fear us.

''they fear you?''

''Witchers are experts in sword fighting...we use two swords. The first is made of steel, for common beasts such as wolves or bears or people. The second is made of silver for monsters which is the technical term for beasts allergic to silver.''

Again, a silence.

''You killed someone ...?'' Yang asked this time, with disturbance in his voice.

''I don't think I know any witcher who hasn't killed anyone...although we don't do it often, in a land like mine things can easily be complicated with a little stupidity and hate mixed together.''

''You didn't answer the question.'' Yang said, clenching his fists.

''mmhhm...I've killed. In self-defense usually, rarely killed someone who I had the opportunity to spared.'' He responded nonchalantly

''And why didn't you let them go?!'' this time with a scream, Yang's irises turned red. The witcher raised an eyebrow. Ruby took her sister's wrist and whispered to calm down.

''you would let a ruthless killer go? Or a band of mercenaries who have raped a poor elf girl? Or some bandits who are going to kill an entire village just to get a sorcerer out of their tower?''

Yang stopped dead, her eyes returning to their natural color. Blake looked to the side, feeling related to what the witcher was talking about. Weiss was simply horrified by the examples just like Ruby, they were trembling in the spot.

Glynda and Ozpin couldn't say anything...any world was cruel in their own ways...some more than others it would seem.

''My father has told me that if I ever have to choose between greater or lesser evil then I should choose neither, since both are still evil but sometimes the world decides to be a real shit to you and forces you to choose anyway...so you choose the lesser evil...life is something valuable and I am not the one to question that of others but that does not mean that I will be watching as someone ruins someone else's. The times my sword has shed someone else's blood, I can say that I don't regret doing it.''

''I think it would be better if the RWBY team goes to rest. They have been through a lot today and I certainly did not expect this conversation to take this course.'' Ozpin spoke looking at the girls, who nodded, turned and went to the elevator. Yang turned before leaving and looked at the witcher who was also looking at her, she spoke without using her voice yet Lance could read her lips perfectly.

''Sorry.''

The witcher nodded without changing his indifferent expression and watched them leave. Ozpin sighed.

"I uh...I think we are yet to know some details about you, how old are you?''

''Nineteen, should be turning about Twenty in a couple of months.'' The witcher replied taking a sip from his now cold coffee.

''What year is in your world? just out of curiosity.'' Glynda butted in.

''...today should be fourth of Velen, the year is 1306 according the elven calendar''

Goodwitch nodded, she had no use for this information yet she was curious about knowing the elven calendar to further detail but she knew Ozpin had lots of stuff to tell him.

He then proceeded to tell him about Remnant, the Huntsmen, the academy and the kingdoms along with the Grimm and other basic things about the planet he would have to know. Lance gratefully accepted this gift of knowledge.

It was a lot to process though, too much but his reasoning ability, like that of all witchers, is greater than any average human, so he could follow Ozpin's explanation even though there was something disturbing him.

He felt like he was talking too much to a person who wasn't even staying.

He had never mentioned that he intended to stay, and just as he said that Yen could open a portal to this world it was obvious to assume that she could create one back and yet the professor kept talking about Remnant's things, his expression changed and Ozpin immediately shut up to look him in the eye. Glynda noticed and looked at Ozpin.

''Professor...?''

The gray-haired man sighed in defeat.

''It seems that there is no way to convince you to stay, right?''

The witcher let out a sigh mixed with laughter through his nose and shook his head in amusement.

''It's not that I don't like new places...but I don't know if I could accommodate to live among so much...so much technology. Not to mention that I am a witcher, I must stay on the Path.''

''You could make your... Path here, the creatures of the Grimm are beasts more than worthy of your steel ... you can also get money for killing them, that's the job of the Huntsmen after all.''

-The job of the Huntsmen, although I understood, is to keep the peace...I don't do that, we witchers don't do that. We don't work without a pay, we don't get involved in wars, hell, even wars are beneficial to us since they attract monsters, and it would definitely be strange to be taken as a hero all the time, I couldn't get used to it.''

''Then what will you do? Are you going back to your planet to work in a dishonored manner at the expense of the misfortune of others?'' Glynda said questioning the relative moral of the witcher.

He nodded.

''that's about it yeah and it's not dishonorable, it is what it is. And I won't return back yet, I can't. You already made it clear to me that magic is not something you people specialize in so I will wait for my father and Yennefer to come find me. In the meantime I will go get me a bed and something to eat...thank you very much for the kindness, Professor and... Professor...but it was time I was on my way.''

The witcher got up from his seat and went to the elevator, it took him no more than a second to decipher the mechanism to such an intriguing vertical mobilization device for it to open its doors...once inside however he found himself dumbfounded at the amount of buttons...dropped his tired shoulders and his finger moved to squeeze one at random when...

''I think I forgot to tell you that we are trade here with a coin based on plastic cards...I don't think your money is very useful, most people will think that you are teasing them and they'll most likely throw you out...that is if you can figure out how to get down to the ground floor in the elevator.'' Ozpin smiled, earning a tired look from Lance.

''Look, no matter what-''

''I know, I know...I will not change your mind, sure...but in any way you will need a place to stay and something to eat. So why don't you stay among my students for now? It is not necessary that you attend to classes but if you want to kill time it is a good idea.''

The witcher felt welcomed by the idea but there was a disturbing sensation he couldn't shake off.

''Why are you doing this? If it is pay for keeping your students safe, the only thing I will say is that I brought that vampire with me, and as such I became responsible so you don't owe me anything.''

Ozpin denied and sighed, turned around to look at the huge window that was facing Vale and with two fingers he adjusted his glasses. ''I will not go into much detail but I will tell you something...something that my students still do not know, they are very young and I don't know how they could react...I have not told you this but the Grimm are stimulated by negativity. Negative thoughts of hate, sadness or fear work like a magnet for them...that's why I can't afford to disclose this information with my students because we only run the risk of scaring them and attracting unwanted threats...''

''Go to the point, Professor.'' replied the young man crossing his arms. Glynda sighed slightly and fixed her gaze on Ozpin.

''Dark times are coming...don't ask me how I know but...I know...there is a great power in this school fighting against a much stronger evil power...and we are not losing yet we are not on the winning side either, besides that we are losing people's trust...the Grimm are getting stronger and we need all the help we can get...I'm not proud to say that our freshmen students may have to fight for their lives in a really short amount of time...But it is a possibility...then...if you are a professional as you say, do you think it would be possible to hire you?''

There was a long silence. Ozpin did not turn to look at the witcher's reaction, which was non-existent when it came to facial features...his brain entered into a rapid debate.

''I do not know. I should think about it.'' He still had business back home, bloody business...he was not sure he could put it aside just yet.

At last Ozpin turned around with a smile, knowing that at least he had been granted with the benefit of the doubt. ''Please...I did not expect an immediate response anyway, Glynda will accompany you to a spare room and show you the dining room and showers so you can take a bath...rest, think about it, please, nothing would make me happier.''

Lance nodded, still unsure but at least accepting the hospitality of Beacon's director he continued being led by Professor Goodwitch who allowed him to enter the elevator and then pressed a specific button and made sure to remember it in his mind...while they were descending the teacher, I spoke without looking him.

''So... a professional.''

''Yes.''

''How is it that someone so skilled with the ability to change the world for good can be so indifferent to the misfortunes that fall on such world?''

''How is it that someone so skilled can be so stupid as to offer his devotion in a cause that will surely bring him death?''

Glynda looked at Lance through the corner of her eye, noticing that he didn't even spared a look at her.

''Sorry me but these stupid people think they can make a change for good in the world.''

''I disagree.''

''Please enlighten me, witcher.''

''The heroes do not make the change, it is the people, the common villager is the one who decides to change...the hero can only reach a certain point by himself...if humanity is not willing to listen and give a shit then we should not strive to save a world full of idiots.'' He spoke clearly and using a cold tone, he had seen what his world had to offer in his young life. He knew better...yet this planet might be different, he didn't really care though.

There was a brief silence, the young man spoke again.

''Remind me why a beauty like you is doing with that boring man''

''My beauty is just a byproduct of my being...and that being is dedicated to creating a better world for everyone...even for the idiots who are attracted to that beauty. You are barking at the wrong tree.'' Glynda adjusted her glasses.

The witcher let out a small laugh ''Just like you, there are costs that are simply too high, my life in my opinion is one of them, I will continue to live eating rich things and sleeping with beautiful women with the regular monster hunt.''

The blond woman turned her head to see the young man, his brow furrowed and a calm but imposing tone. ''If that is our cost to save the world it is much better than letting it die.''

''not in my book. Come on.''

The woman got confused for a second but the elevator doors opened wide, the witcher came out first and then Goodwitch who let out a tired sigh.

Meanwhile in the RWBY team room things were quiet. The four of them were lying in their bunkbeds while Blake used his scroll in search of some clue about the White Fang.

''At least he seems like a handsome dude...'' commented Yang, Weiss sighed.

''A pity you can't say the same as your methods.''

''Hey, I already claimed him Weiss.'' Yang joked with a smile.

''Oh, keep it, I assure you that I don't find any attraction in someone who has his hands dirty with blood.''

''I... I still can't believe it...they take the children and turn them into...that...- Ruby interrupted herself, unable to keep talking.

''According to him his time is very primitive and you saw their weapons...no firearms and no aura or semblance whatsoever...they need to have an advantage over the monsters just as we have it over the Grimm...'' Weiss replied, trying of looking for a coherent reason.

''That doesn't justify! It's horrible, it's ... it's-''

''It's inhuman...'' Blake said interrupting Ruby. The raven-haired girl sighed, leaving her scroll aside. ''But it's what they have...and by the way he said it doesn't sound like he has a grudge against humans...although I think he is too young to do that, I don't think he did take any kids and more I don't think he would do it either... if they really live so much only the oldest and who have seen much of that world are the ones who finally decide if they should produce more witchers.

''Can we please not say the word produce? We are not talking about a robot of sorts'' Yang interrupted in a slightly irritated voice.

''but...he is...isn't right? I mean if he really has no emotions...he's like a kind of...monster killer robot.'' Weiss thought out loud. Yang got upset at that and hit her nightstand with the palm of her hand.

''Weiss he's not a-''

''Why don't we ask him...? It would be easier? If he doesn't really feel anything then I don't think he would have a trouble answering the question, right? - Ruby said raising her head, with a worried look. - maybe we could introduce it to the JNPR team, so he can have more friends!

''Please, Ruby, surely that a murderer does not even have friends and if you have them you are rightly afraid of him.''

''Then I will be his friend and I will not be afraid of him!'' Ruby said, with a new goal in her mind, she got up and took Blake's hand.

''he-hey what are you doing!?''

''you'll come with me; it will be a good way to distract you for a while. It is not healthy for you to be thinking about the White Fang all day, so you will come''

The faunus girl looked at Ruby and found it very difficult to say no to that wet dog face that Ruby put on.'

''Well...anyway it would be interesting to meet someone as...rejected as the fauns.'' Blake said looking for an interest of his own.

Yang smiled and rose from her bed. ''I'll go with you; I cannot let any harpy approach my new acquisition.''

Weiss sighed tiredly and got off her own bed with a growl.

''I will go with you before you give me a stupid and incoherent reason to accompany you so that you only drag me anyway.''

''That's the spirit!'' Ruby said hitting the air with her fist in victory.

They spent a moment searching but it wasn't much since a small fight took place in the cafeteria, RWBY came forward and heard the shouts of one of the members of the CRDL team while flying out of the ring created by students. In the middle were two of Cardin's lackeys and Cardin itself and on the other end was Lance, wearing his typical indifference face although his eyes reflected clear discomfort.

They also noticed that the witcher was dressed in a school gym shirt, instead of his armor and swords. Yet the hilt of his knife could still be seen from the belt on his waist

''I will only say this once, if you attack me, I will retaliate, painfully. am I clear? - the witcher spoke calmly.

''you don't say cat-eyes? let's see if you also have a tail so you can go with it between your legs!'' Cardin replied with an arrogant smile as he launched the first attack with a fist...

''Slow, predictable...'' The sorcerer eluded with ease as he grabbed the arm with which Cardin tried to attack, bent the arm behind him and hit him on the back with his knee that made him moan in pain. ''And easy to counterattack...if that's how you train, I must say that I couldn't hope more for a "hero" school...''

''Let me go damn faunus, you will regret iHHHHHH!'' Cardin was unable to finish his sentence due to the sorcerer squeezing his arm tightly, making him hurt and much. Applying an arm lock stimulating the pain nerves of the boy, making him go through a strong pain without even having to break his arm...when he found no more opposition, he took his neck and slammed his face against the table. Cardin was knocked out right and his terrified teammates just ran to him and took him away while apologizing to the witcher.

The other students looked dumbfounded as the witcher watched as they took Cardin, then sighed and sat down again at the corner of a table and continued to eat quietly as if nothing had happened, without paying attention to everything else.

Ruby sighed ''he's definitely not doing the best job to make a good impression, isn't he?''

"Speak for you sister, I like a man who knows how to defend himself." Yang smiled.

"That was more a complete annihilation than a defense." Blake observed.

''It was to be expected from barbarian.'' Weiss said looking aside.

"The barbarian can hear you, princess." Lance said waving without taking his eyes off his plate. Weiss was surprised to see how the witcher could hear her from such a distance with so many people talking in between ''I will not retract my words! I still believe that you are a horrible person!'' she said speaking louder and putting her hands in her mouth so that she could be heard louder although it was unnecessary.

"And I don't care" said the young man, nodding in her direction as he took a bite with his other hand on the fork.

Ruby sighed ''Weiss, you're not helping. Come on.'' commanded the leader guiding Weiss and Blake taking them by the hand, Yang walked alone motivated solely for the purpose of bonding with the witcher. Yang sat next to him, Blake next to Yang and Weiss and Ruby sat on the opposite side. The witcher sighed.

''What are you doing?''

"We came to talk, okay?" Weiss said in a clearly irritated tone as she rested his elbow on the table and rested her chin on her open palm. The witcher smirked.

''Against your good judgment, I can see.''

''believe me, I'm making an effort'' said the white-haired without looking at him.

''Enough the both of you...jeez'' Ruby grumbled.

"Rejoice, Ice Queen, we have found someone like you!" Yang smiled. Blake laughed at the comment.

''Oh please, he and I are nothing alike.''

''Amen to that...'' Lance said raising his eyebrows slightly, after swallowing his bite he left the fork on the table, sighed and looked up. ''What do you want?''

Ruby tensed a little. ''Only to...know more about you, after all you did fell out of nowhere...''

The witcher closed his eyes for a moment and decided that it would not hurt to share personal information with them. He nodded.

''What would you like to talk about?''

Serious mistake, witcher was bombarded with an innumerable amount of questions that immediately made him feel withdrawn...he used the best tactic he knew for these cases...go one by one. Answering questions related to society, magic, means of transport, weapons, monsters and others...

''What other races are on your planet? You said there were more than just humans.'' Blake asked, genuinely curious.

''Yes...well, there are halflings who are almost like dwarves...it's weird even trying to explain but consider it more dwarf than a dwarf. Then there are the dwarves in question, they are a group of drunks and game-addicted folk, many of them are good in hand-to-hand combat and are very, very skilled with blacksmithing...funny guys, I like them.'' the witcher took a sip of his water before continuing.

''The elves, tall, pointed ears and live thousands of years. Many are charlatans but several are also very good fighters, the lip scar was made to me by a teenage elf who got angry because I killed his father, they are-''

''Why did you kill him...?'' Blake asked, in a very serious tone. They all looked at him with guilty eyes, except Yang who looked at him with a touch of anger, as if she had been there at that moment.

The witcher sighed slightly.

''Right, susceptibility, hard to remember...folk said that the father was possessed and that is why they kept him in a locked room, they called me to get rid of the beast that possessed him but it turned out that there was no possession at all and the man was pretending...by the time the wife arrives I had already made the mistake of releasing him, he surprised me and left me unconscious...by the time I waked up the elf had stabbed her...killing her and the younger child...by the time the only thing left worth doing was to put the poor maniac to rest before he did any more damage. The oldest daughter saw me by chance when I killed him and got angry, not knowing the situation.

When the sorcerer finished telling, he looked at the girls, who looked at the table looking horrified.

''It's not exactly a bedtime story.''

''no... I asked...excuse me for judging without knowledge.''

The witcher shrugged.

''Where I come from people spit my face without thinking twice, you don't need to apologize.''

''Well, your people are wrong...'' Ruby said looking at his face. ''I don't care who they are or where they are or what time they are...nobody should treat anyone with such disrespect.

The witcher smiled wickedly. ''those are some good principles...they surely will take you somewhere all right. Sure...elves, yeah, there are two classes, there are the younger...the lower class we can call them...the other however, more ancient elves are mostly hostile since their home planet was long destroyed by an old power of legends so they decided to invade our planet with rather hostility...luckily they never were able to accomplish it because some angry witchers had some things to say about it at the time.'' He remembered; however, the threat of the Wild Hunt was still a thing...even with the death of their king there was remnants...these ones wanted revenge against Geralt, and the school of the wolf overall. Lance had encountered them, they proved to be rather strong and merciless opponents...a force to be reckoned with.

''And while the other elves are more peaceful, the land of my planet was mostly theirs but the growing kingdoms of the north and humanity they gradually lost status in the world...now they are treated as inferior beings...a real shit, I have known elves and usually do stand up against guards or human idiots for them...sometimes the humans just walk away...sometimes they don't.'' his thoughts drifter towards Iorveth, a friend. He wondered where that problematic elf was and what would he be doing right now. He smiled warmly at the thought.

Blake grinned slightly. ''You are a good person...not many people would stand like that for the socially oppressed''

''I have a sword and the knowledge to use it to support me in case things get messy...I'm not afraid to stand up for the folk''

The witcher took another bite of his food, closed his eyes a moment to enjoy it before the next question from Weiss. ''Where does your last name come from?''

''Beauclair...it's not my last name, it's just a place. witchers have no last names, only names and nicknames. Beauclair is the capital of Toussaint, the place where I came from

''You have no last names?'' Ruby asked curiously.

''Witcher must be totally neutral in the face of political conflicts between nation...not having surnames means being detached from family charges that could generate an illusion of attachment to a certain place or family...we are given new names when we get to the school of witchers and we are to forget our old family, name and surname. Sometimes our teachers...encourage us to choose a surname, but since the one I had chosen was very pretentious my father chose it for me...Lance of Beauclair.

They all looked down, in shock.

''That...that's horrible...'' Yang commented ''excuse me for saying it but-''

''Quiet, honestly, it's nice to know that someone gives a damn about something I'm talking about. In addition, witchers do not usually think much about it, it is simply the way things are developed. Right now I'm not complaining so I don't care.'' I answer calmly the sorcerer, a small smile on his lips as he looked at Yang.

The blonde nodded slowly with a small blush on her cheeks.

''How long do you think you'll stay...?'' Weiss said out of nowhere.

''Weiss don't just kick him out!'' Blake said.

''I'm not kicking him out, it was just a question!'' she replied sounding offended.

''Well, then don't make it sound like that'' there was annoyance in the voice Yang. The witcher laughed at the argument.

''I don't know...days, months maybe. I'm hoping Yennefer and my father can track the magic traces from the portal that they opened and open another portal here but how long can they take? I have no idea.''

''You haven't considered staying?''

The witcher shrugged at Ruby's question.

-I don't know...there's work in both places...here the Grimm and the monsters back in home...both look promising, but still...

''It should be easy, just think of all the pretty girls here and you already have your answer'' said the blonde winking at him jokingly.

''hah, I bet none of you even had se-'' before the witcher could finish his sentence Yang and Blake covered his mouth, Lance was confused.

''huh...? What are you talking about?'' Ruby and her innocence made Lance's doubts very clear.

"I'll tell you when you grow up." The witcher smiled.

-Hey! It's not fair. Uncle Qrow always says that! - said the redhead annoyed while pouting, making the witcher laugh.

''Maybe for a good reason.'' replied Lance.

''what will you do now?'' Yang said looking back at him

''fix my armor, I have some patches for the leather but I will have to take the chainmail to a blacksmith to fix it...I will also do maintenance on my swords, a fight against a vampire is something that really wears down silver''

''Oh! I could help you with that!''

The witcher looked at Ruby dumbfounded and tilted his head. ''you?''

''yup! I built my own weapon! Even though my uncle Qrow designed it for me...I can fix the chainmail for you if you make me a promise!''

Lanza raised an eyebrow, Yang smiled already know what she was going to say.

''What is it?''

''SHOW ME YOUR SWORDS!" The three girls laughed and the witcher only smiled as he nodded and let the redhead play with his swords.

* * *

In another place, meanwhile, three figures covered in dark steel armor with similarities to blackened skeletons the chest piece resembling a rib cage and skull-like masks waited on the side of the car while they watched the faunuses as they carried lots of wooden boxes outside and inside either with their own hands or with giant pieces of technology that were unknown to them.

''Have you settled?'' Asked a man dressed in white with a hat as he approached them walking with a cane, behind this was a short woman with two hair colors and a brown eye while the other was gray, she was holding an umbrella.

The taller black knight of them all that was holding a long staff of cold dark steel with a ball of incandescent white crystal on the tip looked at them from below, since he was much taller than the two of them, and nodded silently.

''Well, we are preparing for a...uuh 'skirmish', once we have loaded all the goods on the train and our benefactors give us the signal we will attack Vale, be sure that your mysterious man will appear.''

''We have waited a long time for this opportunity...He shall make himself present, otherwise you and that human Cinder will be in a great...what is the word you humans use? predicament?

''Oh, come on, no need for threats. If that guy is in Beacon as you said then be sure he will appear.'' Roman scratched his neck nervously trying to sound cool.

"For your own good dh'oine and for the sake of this planet, I hope you're right." The dark wizard said grimly as he reinforced his grip on his staff. Torchwick swallowed and nodded.

''There will be no problem, I assure you.'' he replied nervously.

"Good." He said once more before turning his head to his comrades.

''Wait, one more thing.'' Torchwick lifted a finger, the knight turned his head to look at him and he felt like behind those dark basins made by the metal mask of the mysterious being there were evil eyes and a piercing look. Roman had to swallow to speak again. ''I think...I never got your name.''

There was a solemn silence between them, Neo could feel the heavy tension as she gripped her umbrella tightly while that arrogant smile of hers turned into a stoic frown.

''Mervheil...commander of the wild hunt.''


	3. Meaningful relationships

There was only one sound in the room and that was the noise of the whetstone against the witcher's silver sword, carefully taking care of his weapon. Remnant... a place where runes do not exist, and the fact that he didn't had much of this lien currency, Lance had to take care of his weapons and armor more than ever. It was totally possible that he could never find a suitable replacement or the money to pay for it, he would have to talk to Ozpin about that. He had been staying in beacon for almost three weeks now, and he had been taking jobs for Ozpin that usually consisted in killing Grimm but sometimes he would encounter a Huntsmen that had gone rogue who was caught stealing villagers homes while the Grimm attacked sometimes the Huntsmen would just return their stuff back...other times the witcher had no option but to face them, it never ended well for them.

He never felt bad about killing monsters.

Someone knocking on his door interrupted his work and thoughts, he set his sword aside and stood up to open. As he assumed the girl in red was at the door with his sister, he moved aside without saying anything and let them in to his room.

''Thanks!'' Ruby said and entered the room while carrying his metal shoulder pads, Yang just smiled at him and stepped in behind her sister who also was carrying parts of the Wolf school armor recently repaired. The witcher took the opportunity to catch up on a trivial subject that made him curious.

''How are you sisters anyway? Different parents?''

''Different mothers. Long story.'' Yang said in an odd tone, leaving the pieces of armor on the workbench the witcher was using to sharpen his blades.

''Well... we have the time and it doesn't seem that Ruby is going to leave my swords alone any time soon.'' The witcher said while looking at Ruby who had star-shaped eyes, admiring, touching and hugging the weapons.

''SO BEAUTIFUL, YOU CAN FEEEEL THE LOVE THAT THE BLACKSMITH PUT IN THEM! and the wolf ornament on the hilt is so coooool, the steel is of the highest quality and I never thought that a silver sword would feel so great to the touch!'' Said the girl almost drooling over the witcher's weapons.

''Not entirely made of silver of course, it's also made out of pure dimeritium a metal that negates magic properties. It's our bread and butter when facing monsters.''

Lance broke off from what he was saying when he noticed that a hand was grabbing his, the witcher looked at Yang who had an apathetic look on her face.

''We have the same father, Taiyang Xiao Long... and my mother's name is Raven, Raven Branwen.''

''Sister of Qrow Branwen... hmmm.''

''Oh! Have you met my uncle? He's here in the school?'' Ruby asked from the other side of the room. The witcher shook his head

''Ozpin told me about him, nothing else.''

Yang cleared her throat to get his attention. ''Yes, that's right... my mother abandoned me a few months after I was born, she left me with my father and Ruby's mother. Summer Rose.''

''Who... also left as a child, I was two years old... she disappeared from the face of Remnant... nobody ever knew anything about her never again.'' Ruby said looking at the floor and hugging the swords tightly. "She eventually was listed as... killed in action while fulfilling her duties as a huntress''

''She was a huntress?'' The witcher blinked.

''They all were... My dad, my mom, Qrow and... Raven'' Yang spoke as if Raven wasn't even her mother, it seemed that the blonde took Summer as her mom. Lance hummed silently.

''I see... so you believe that Yang's mother is still alive at least...'' the witcher concluded.

''Yes, we know from Qrow that she still is... unlike our mother''

''She hasn't given any signs of life... I understand. You don't need to talk anymore if don't want to, I won't pry further and I'm sorry for asking even.''

''It's okay...'' Yang said looking at the witcher in the eye. ''It's good, y'know? To blow some steam from time to time''

''I can relate to that, yes'' Lance nodded.

''What about your own parents, Lance?'' Ruby said. ''You don't really know anything about them?''

''I honestly do not remember my parents'' He admitted. ''witchers usually lose most of their past memories as a child after the Trail of the Grasses. Although I would be lying if I said that I'm curious about them.''

''You do not remember anything? Not even their names?'' Ruby asked with concern in her voice

''No... the point of it is to make witchers a sort of book with totally blank pages... although there are exceptions where some witchers do remember who they were and who were their parents... But there is just one example that I know of so I take it that it must be a rare thing to happen. ''

''So, you can't even look for them because you don't know who they are.'' Yang summed up with a dull tone.

''that's about it...''

''I'm sorry...'' Ruby said, leaving the swords aside. The witcher got up from where he was and approached the young girl to pat her head.

''Don't be, it's not your fault and honestly, it's not something that bothers my sleep in any way although I had a crappy childhood, I cannot say that I have a bad life... I live on the edge hunting beasts, they pay me, I get to travel around the world... and other worlds occasionally'' Both Ruby and Yang snorted a laugh in response.

''You are more or less the personification of my dream.'' Yang smiled. The witcher tilted his head.

''How's that?''

''The reason I want to be a huntress... just live on the edge, have adventures, sleep under the stars, kill huge Grimm, save people, that kind of thing. You make me jealous.''

The witcher frowned and shook his head, avoiding her eyes.

''Adventure is something that comes with the Path... the more you travel the path the faster you realize you're lost... aimlessly. For that reason, some witchers along the centuries... they lost their way, some of them even took jobs assassins or mercenaries. If you are going to become a huntress, that is more or less what a witcher is, I think it's best have a goal that you want to accomplish at the... never lose sight of it and the adventures will come alone... if you go around the world wandering, you will most likely not find what you are looking for... or you'll begin to question yourself and that is much worse.''

''What is this? I thought class time was over.'' Yang scoffed.

''Only an advice you dumb girl.'' said the witcher sounding somewhat irritated. He approached her and ruffled her hair. ''An advice from a witcher who despite his young age already saw what the world has to offer... and is not always as exciting as it seems.''

Yang looked up and her chest felt somewhat oppressed in a weird way as she admired the smile on his lips... a small but gentle smile. Scars that spoke for themselves and yellow eyes filled with truth. She swallowed, looking for her voice.

''Y-Yeah... Of course... I'll keep it in mind... Come on Ruby, let's see what the others are doing.''

The red-haired girl made a tantrum for having to leave the swords but left with her sister, who felt a very rare agitation inside of her.

The witcher had noticed perfectly, the palpitation increased at great speed, the blush and the broken words... the signs were there, he just laughed at the fact.

''Dumb kids...''

The witcher returned to his own business but was interrupted by a message from Ozpin, on his new scroll, that required his presence. Lance sighed and left his room with his scroll in hand in hopes of finding his way along the maze of corridors that the school was.

Later that day Ozpin proposed the witcher to find a seat for the combat class, after watching Pyrrha Nikos in action against an entire team, the witcher concluded that CDRL team was lazy and lacked balance and teamwork, but also that Pyrrha was a fierce opponent and it was a surprise to see such a young girl fight in such a way that reminded him about the tales from Zerrikania where the most skilled of warriors were women wearing rather revealing clothes. The demonstration that Pyrrha did left him wondering about how others students handled themselves in a fight... would they all be as good as Pyrrha?

On the other hand, the witcher had the opportunity to inspect her weapons he was mesmerized by the fact that her sword could change its shape in a spear and even shoot projectiles... but also the weapons returned to his hands after throwing them, Lance assumed that this phenomenon was known as semblance, unique skills discovered at the time of having unlocked an aura... also the aura itself...the manifestation of one's soul, a useful tool to mitigate physical damage, also helps the versatility and dynamics of movement... jump and reach lengths that might seem impossible for anyone in his world someone with an aura could perform that kind of stunts without problems and land without a single scratch.

The witcher made a mental note to ask the RWBY team to help him unlock his aura... in the meantime he found himself analyzing the fight between Pyrrha and a boy named Mercury...the kid had a somewhat familiar look in his gaze. The way he looked at Pyrrha...

''The kid has the eyes of a... killer? hmm... something's off with that one...maybe I should-''

''I forfeit'' Mercury said, the witcher was taken by surprise. He rested his chin on his hand. Mercury then looked at Pyrrha with a friendly face, maybe he was wrong? He tried to shake off the feeling that something wasn't right...he had committed mistakes in the past, misjudged...he didn't wish to do the same in this place.

He sighed and hid the thought very deep in the corner of his mind. Glynda was talking about something related to the Vytal Festival. Ruby sat right beside him and whispered quietly in his ear.

''You wanna spar?''

The witcher looked at her bewildered. ''What?''

Ruby's cheeks heated up a little. ''I-I just...well...I'd like to test myself against you...I wanna see how you manage in a fight...Is that a bad thing?''

Lance grinned and nodded ''It's fine, let's do it. I haven't had something to fight in the last days. This will do some good for my muscles''

Ruby threw her hands in the air ''Yay!''

* * *

Yang left the classroom after her...chat with Blake. Talking about her mother always put her in a bad spot but while talking to Blake and convincing her to stop from hurting herself with the search for the White Fang, Yang's emotions got mixed up when she leaved the classroom and ended up crying outside the school. She would kick herself around about it every day thinking how she could have been so stupid that day to have taken Ruby with her to look for her mother, as both almost ended up dead... had it not been for her uncle... the blonde wiped the tears and watched the sunset for a moment until a noise made her direct her attention to the open field. She got up from her place on the stairs and investigated where the unknown growls were coming from... one of them she recognized, his sister and the other of a man, then the sound of the colliding steel made her run when she thought that her sister was fighting while Yang's older sister's mental alarm kicked her forward with each clash of swords.

The witcher in full armor was holding his sword in a strange angle as he walked clockwise facing Ruby who did the same with her scythe in her hands.

''You're fast ... with that armor I didn't think''

''Mutagens, strong stuff that they inject in witchers during the Trial of the Grasses is what give us our speed and strength. A common human would be very limited with this armor, but wearing it every day also helps and gets you used to it.''

''Blah, blah, come here!'' the redhead taunted him, the witcher smirked.

''As you wish.'' the white-haired witcher pressed forward while gracefully dodging a horizontal attack jumping over Ruby's scythe, he gathered his strenght with a full turn and he swung his sword millimeters away from Ruby's face, failing on purpose. The little girl took a step back to gather herself and attacked once again in a wave of several horizontal and vertical cuts that Lance dodged and blocked effectively, but putting him on the defensive.

The blonde smiled and felt her heart soften when she saw her sister looking for a weakness in the man.

Ruby shifted her weight by twirling her weapon behind her to build a great momentum and she delivered a strong descending impact, the witcher hurried forward and raised the sword as he guided the tip of the scythe to the side, he came closer and before Ruby could defend herself, she found the hard forehead of the witcher who pushed her back, draining some of her aura.

''Hmmm, good try but don't put all your strength in a single attack and if you do at least make sure that your opponent can't do anything about it... I wasn't taken by surprised nor was I incapacitated I just used a little strength without even taking the effort to block it.

Ruby growled as he took his scythe and detracted the edge. A smile appeared as I pointed with her.

''You mean an attack like this one?'' She smirked confidently, she shot and it hit him right in the chest, the very force from the bullet send him across the field, he lied painfully on the floor. ''LANCE!'' Ruby screamed in panic. She thought he had an aura by now...she made a mistake.

The blonde opened her eyes in disbelief and immediately ran towards the witcher lying on the floor.

His breathing was deep but he wasn't panicking, he used both of his hands to lift his torso carefully trying to avoid the penetrating hot pain that had pierced his chest. The crimson color flow emerging from the right side of his chest, the bullet had penetrated the chainmail and had mitigated most of the impact. He could feel the burning sensation quickly disappearing, the bullet passed through his body.

''LANCE, OH MY G-GODS I-I-'' Ruby knelt in front of him without knowing what to do, she tried to help him. Her eyes full of tears.

''RUBY WHAT THE HELL!? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?'' Lance could hear the voice of Yang behind him. He felt his chest and back getting warmer. His fingers reached one of his pockets.

Yang stopped in front of them and stared at the wound for a moment in shock before snapping back to reality.

''Professor Goodwitch, I'll go find her now! Stay here-''

''It's...good...'' the witcher grunted as he uncorked a small bottle of Swallow and drank the contents in a gulp, knowing that the projectile had gone through and out from his back he only needed to close the wound. His skin became slightly paler as a laugh emerged from his throat. ''Professor Ozpin warned me about bullets... but I didn't think it would be so painful, hah.''

Ruby was sitting on a bench looking at the floor clinging to her weapon while Yang helped Lance remove his armor very carefully although there was no danger anymore, when she reached his long-sleeved shirt the blonde skipped a beat when she saw the white shirt, now soaked in a wet red, it had a hole but that hole was completely healthy in the young man's skin

''N-no... I didn't think you would be able to dodge it but I thought... you already had your aura at least and I...'' tears were flowing out of the redhead's eyes.

''It's okay, Ruby, nothing bad happened at the end.'' Yang said calmly, taking her hand trying to reassure her.

''No, it isn't! What if I killed Lance? What would have happened if you hadn't been able to take your potion? Or if I had shot him somewhere else without knowing!? I would have killed him a-and I would be a murderer! I would live the rest of my days in prison! I would never become a hunter and dad-''

''Ruby.''

The young witcher's voice made the girl shriek again as she looked at the floor in shame. Lance sighed and approached her.

''Look at me...''

The witcher grabbed her hand and squeezed it carefully, Ruby looked up to see Lance wearing a smile.

''I'm fine... see? We witchers are very durable and truth be told it would be really stupid that a fifteen-year-old girl killed me by accident.'' The redhead nodded and embraced the witcher out of pure sadness.

''I thought... for a second there I thought...''

''Quiet... nothing's gonna happen to me. Accidents happen. I know you didn't do it on purpose'' Lance reassured as he returned the hug and placed a hand on the young woman's head.

"We should unlock your aura... just in case." Yang proposed, still with fright in her voice, she joined the hug as well.

''Mmhmm! I won't let you fight with anyone until you've done it!'' Ruby declared dropping a few tears on the fabric of Lance's shirt. He laughed in a calm manner.

''And who the hell are you to give me orders?''

''Your friend.'' Ruby said hiding even more between his arms.

Lance's eyes widened in surprise and he felt somewhat strange due to the declaration of friendship, he looked at Yang who nodded with a warm smile.

''You're a pretty okay guy so it's fine by me.'' the blonde said.

Lance sighed and nodded while ruffling Ruby's hair.

''Yeah, guess that's fine'' he approved.

''We also have to introduce you to the JNPR team. Pyrrha has millions of questions about your way of fighting'' said Ruby in a weak tone not letting go of him.

''After I get changed ... something tells me that panic would arise if they see me like that.''

Yang laughed and nodded as he helped them up.

''Come on, I have your stuff, let's go inside.''

''Thanks Yang'' The witcher smiled.

* * *

''Ah, I see you unlocked your aura, Mr. Beauclair. Excellent.''

''Just Lance, we already discussed this subject.'' corrected the witcher in front of Professor Ozpin.

''Right, my bad. On the other hand, how do my students treat you? I hope you aren't too much for them.''

''Other way around actually. Very loud, they make me talk, they are... Children.''

''That they are, yes...'' Ozpin smiled. ''That's why I called you''

''You're not going to ask me to be a teacher of sorts for them, right? Don't fuck around with me, please.''

Ozpin let out an exaggerated laugh while shaking his head.

''No, no please. Although I'm sure you have a great amount of experience, it is safe to say that your area is not a very suitable for the classes we teach in this school.'' he said in an amused manner while crossing out the word 'teacher' on a sheet that said 'possible jobs for Lance'.

''I see...sorry for the bluntness. So, what is it that you need then?

''How do you see yourself interacting with the students more often?''

''More often?'' Lance asked raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms ''You mean more often than now that the only thing that I've been doing is interact with them?''

''No... I mean teammates.''

''I work alone, Professor.'' His voice turned serious.

''I know, I know and I understand. Many of my huntsmen friends and colleagues work alone for several reasons and I can see how you think my students are a liability...but.''

There is always a but. The witcher rolled his eyes.

''The second semester of this year has already begun and each team of students will be assigned a practice mission guided by an expert huntsmen and... unfortunately RWBY team already has their sight in a... location in particular that might not be exactly a safe place for first-year students.''

"Let me guess, they will pick a dangerous mission that's not at their level" said Lance.

''Exactly.''

''Why don't you tell them no and that's that?''

''Let's say I prefer to encourage my students and give them the challenge if they believe they are up to it.''

''And if they die?''

''They will not. They are always with a professional who will protect them from real dangers...still, an extra hand in the work of protecting the students would be good'' He proposed.

''But ... let's get hypothetical and say they die.'' Lance smirked. He liked this, he enjoyed fucking around with people. He always had a knack to get in the nerves of anyone.

''They are not going to die.'' the professor said very seriously while grabbing his cane and getting up from his seat. ''In the case of an emergency, the huntsmen have the authority to send students back to the academy.''

''I see…'' replied the witcher with a sigh.

''Of course, I will pay you half now and half after you and the team return from the mission.''

''I don't really have a choice, right? Lance crossed his arms

''Well, you've been living with us for a few weeks, it's time for you to do something useful besides killing Grimm and rogue huntsmen.'' Ozpin said., ending with a slight laugh.

''Hmpf... I guess it's true... very well, I'll be part of your experiment and keep them safe.''

Ozpin nodded with a smirk. ''Please do try to keep competent, they are a very... energetic group and maybe they'll disappear from your sight without you even noticing.''

''Oh, they won't. Even if I'm to lose sight of them it will be very difficult not to hear to their annoying voices.'' the witcher nodded with a smile born out of his arrogance.

''Then I can stay calm. Changing the subject, will you attend tonight's dance?''

The witcher blinked in surprise and looked at the professor.

''Dance?''

* * *

"_alright, let's move to dances"_

_"Dances?"_

_"Dances, banquets, parties, weddings, ceremonies. That kind of thing" said his white-haired teacher, the young apprentice looked at him raising an eyebrow, confused._

_"Right, you'll be wondering, why is this idiot going to teach me a lesson about parties"_

_"You are not wrong, specially the idiot part." Lance smirked._

_"Dances and banquets are great celebrations that usually involve important people and tend to have work for us witchers, sometimes it is even necessary to participate in one for a contract. You never know, maybe an escort for a countess, or you must identify to a murderer or monster that may be hidden among people... but just as you can detect them, they can do the same with you. "_

_"And how do I avoid that?"_

_"Simple, you dance with a woman and you mingle with the crowd, so no one will suspect that there's a witcher at the party until it is too late."_

_Lance grinned "And what? Are you going to teach me how to dance?"_

_"Oh god no, I hate those things. Yennefer will do it for me."_

_"She agreeded?"_

_"She did indeed...after last night"_

_"Gah, Geralt!" The student said with disgust, the older witcher laughed softly._

Lance would be lying if he said that knowing how to dance hasn't been useful in the past, remembering that conversation with his teacher brought pleasant memories that warmed his heart. The young man smiled at those memories; he was sure that geralt was recovering after the wound against the Katakan...he would be embarrassed if he allowed a lesser vampire to kill him.

A witcher is a master of hand-to-hand combat and an expert when it comes to fighting against unimaginable beasts and horrors and although witchers were long-lived it did not mean that such age did not leave scars in them with time... for someone like Geralt, who has passed the mark of one hundred years it becomes difficult to maintain an effective performance not to mention the brutal additional experiments he suffered as a child due to his abnormal resistance to poisonous formulae that only shortened his lifespan... and the amount of potions, poisons, wounds and settling that had happened during Geralt's life...not that he was complaining about the last one though.

Lance was sure that time was doing numbers in the older witcher and he came to think that Geralt just wanted to make sure to leave his teachings to someone worthy... all his experience, his teachings, what he learned along the way... a legacy... maybe his Path had indeed come to an end... but he was able to guide someone else to push on and continue to protect the common villager from the monstrous dangers of the earth... however, Lance would never have thought that such random forces would push him into another world.

At least I have work. He thought to himself with a smile.

The witcher spent his time studying the creatures of the Grimm, more than once he had descended to the mainland to prove his strength and found that the strength of most of the Grimm is in the numbers, and that was that. Some others proved to be more powerful, but nothing that a professional beast hunter couldn't handle, he was amazed and, honestly, disappointed to see that silver had no effect on them. Besides that his knowledge from his profession and wisdom allowed him to see signs of Nekkers and Drowners in some places around near rivers and forests where these beasts went out to hunt... he never saw the necrophages themselves its smell and excrement were still there... it could only mean one thing and that was that the Grimm and they did not get along... a sign of relief maybe, less to worry about.

Having tested his strength against the beasts of the Grimm he was confident in his abilities to keep the girls safe in case of any eventuality... however few things could prepare him for a last-minute dance and one of the urgencies was to get a suit, something that the Professor Ozpin made himself responsible and provided Lance with one as a sign of friendship. He sighed wearily, seeing that there was no way out of this since RWBY team would surely drag him along anyway.

The suit looked more like a prison of cloth, cuffs, tight neck, back and waist. It was difficult to breathe, and when he looked in the mirror, he realized that he looked like a complete idiot but nevertheless he had a ray of hope and that was that this suit was not as itchy and uncomfortable as the suits and doublets of his planet. Lance smiled softly at the thought.

He left his room just to see Yang outside his door leaning against the wall, by the appearance she was waiting for him. He saw her smile at the young man's elegance.

''So, you do look good in something other than your armor. Weiss owes me ten lien.''

The witcher growled as he closed the door ''ugh, I feel stupid with this thing.''

''I'm really surprised that you could put on the necktie on your own.'' Yang admitted with a snort.

''Ozpin gave me some advice on how to tie it properly''

Yang laughed at the statement. "What a shame, it would have been more interesting if I could have helped you." she winked at him.

The witcher looked at her from head to toe, her dress was a sight for his eyes, he hummed silently and crossed his arms. "Something tells me we would have stayed in my room longer than expected." He said as a malicious smirk peeked through his lips.

''Well... what a pity, we'll never know ~'' The blonde replied with a rather flirtatious tone. ''Come on, I'm supposed to be at the reception, Weiss is going to kill me.''

Lance nodded and they both continued on their way to the entrance hall and ballroom where the dance was taking place although they were not in a hurry and Yang was slowing her pace on purpose to have a little talk with the witcher.

''Thank you...''

''What for?'' said the young wolf as he looked at her sideways.

''My sister... she shot you and well y'know... that.''

''It was an accident, she didn't know.''

''She could have killed you.''

''But she didn't.''

''How can you be so calm about it?''

''Because I know it wasn't on purpose. And it helped after all, you helped me unlock my aura... now those incidents won't happen again. Besides, it's not like it was the first time that someone shot me with something. Bullets can burn yeah, but try to pull out a scoia'tael arrow tip from your thigh, those things are worse by far.''

Yang felt withdrawn and disturbed by the last sentence. she thought carefully about her next words. ''you... you're not afraid of dying, aren't you?''

Lance stopped and looked directly into Yang's eyes, who stopped to face him too.

''Yang... what's going on?''

''Just... answer the question. Okay?''

He sighed and looked away to the window. He looked up at the shattered moon.

''Witchers never die in their beds.''

''What...what does that mean?'' Yang hugged herself. There was a faint sign of fear in her voice.

''Exactly that. The life of a witcher can end in many ways but it is very difficult to be a boring one. We usually die doing the thing we know how to do, the thing we must do...we die fulfilling our fate. It's a noble way to go...I think I would be okay with it if that time came.''

Yang pressed her lips and looked aside. ''I think ... I think I understand.''

"Of course, It would have been _really_ stupid if Ruby had killed me." Lance said casually, to distract Yang and he proved successful.

Yang couldn't help but laugh as she looked back at the wolf's eyes. ''Yes, I must say so...''

''Just relax. I value my life as well as I value that of others.''

Yang blinked, she blushed for some reason. ''You said that you-''

''Just because I haven't been paid doesn't mean I'm about to let someone die...not if I can do something about it. No matter what the code says.''

''Then you lied to me…'' Yang looked at the young man with a warm smile in her lips.

''What are you talking about?'' he said sounding confused.

''You really _are_ a hero.'' the blonde replied, hitting his arm in a playful manner.

The witcher smiled and rolled his eyes ''You guys really love that word, don't you?

Both arrived at the dance that was mostly uninhabited since Yang was in charge of the reception of the guests so they were still early; the witcher sighed and began to help Weiss to finish the decorations. The Atlesian girl saw him with a clearly surprised look''

''Huh, who would have thought? You _can_ look somewhat elegant.''

''Ouch.'' replied the Lance. ''No surprise they call you Ice Queen.''

''Ugh, that dumb nickname. Don't tell me you're gonna use it too.''

''Nah, don't need nicknames to make fun of people'' the witcher looked around, the music was already playing and the guests were arriving. The lights made a good atmosphere and the girls in revealing dresses just delighted his eyes. ''Good work organizing the event.''

''That's a compliment?'' Weiss asked as her gaze focused in the nonchalant expression of Lance.

The witcher nodded. ''It is. It's necessary to congratulate someone when they did a good job... otherwise one would never know if they did a good or a bad job.''

''We agree on something, I can see'' Weiss smiled.

''Yes... and that terrifies me'' the witcher joked.

''OHHH YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL!'' Lance heard Yang's voice over the music. The wolf chuckled at the sight of Ruby on red and black tight dress and her sister praising herself by her own sense of style.

''Ugghhh can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in one of these?'' Ruby complained and staggered in place due to the high heels. The young witcher gave a very short laugh and leaned against the wall looking at Ruby trying to walk while Yang laughed.

The evening continued at a slow and relaxed pace for the witcher, his activities consisted of watching others dance and... that was it. Or at least it was until Professor Ozpin, Glynda and an unknown man dressed in a fancy military suit joined him.

''Are you not enjoying the dance, Lance?'' Ozpin asked jovially.

''My specialty is dancing on a battlefield... but on a ballroom ...''

''I understand the feeling, although we must afford ourselves these moments. They are the ones we will never forget.'' replied the professor.

''Heh, you say it as if we are never to see another dance, Oz.'' replied the stranger.

''Hmm... I don't think we've been introduced.'' said the witcher indifferently.

''Oh, my apologies. James Ironwood, General and Director of the Academy of Atlas'' the man introduced offering a hand that the witcher did not shake.

''Mmm I was right about you. Military, your bearing and uniform gave it away, although I didn't thought that you were general... and if I remember correctly Atlas is the kingdom with the most technological and military advances... so I must ask, you were the one who brought all those armed forces?'' The witcher raised an eyebrow.

''Do you see James? I told you that people would notice.'' Ozpin crossed his arms.

''It's for your own safety, Oz. Nothing else.'' Ironwood defended himself.

''I must apologize if I don't believe you general, but I come from a place where war is a common currency and a kingdom carrying troops to another is usually considered a reason for war... and_ not_ one for peace.'' Lance said gesturing with the hand.

''The people of Vale are in grave danger, the Vytal festival is a very important date and cannot be interrupted by terrorists.'' the general declared, glaring at the witcher.

''From what I read the Vytal festival is a way to celebrate the peace achieved between kingdoms after the great war... so please explain to me, what peace are we talking about when there are armed battalions of another kingdom in peacetime?'' he asked clearly annoyed.

The general clenched his fists and looked into his eyes as he spoke in a more serious tone. ''It's to keep them safe.''

"safe from what?" Lance approached to face the general.

''Okay, okay. Our students are having a _wonderful_ time and it would be a shame to ruin everything for them now. Lance, everything will be explained to you in time, I don't plan to have you waiting in the shadows for much longer.''

''Ozpin, are you going to tell him about ... that?'' asked the general surprised, Glynda approached Ironwood and nudged his side with her elbow between his ribs.

''James. Not here. _Behave_.''

''Yes, I will. Lance is a professional, he has experience fighting beasts and the Grimm are no different... also he has been gaining my sympathy in recent days so it seems a good idea to inform him about our situation so please do try to convince him to stay.'' Ozpin explained in a serious tone

The general felt withdrawn but nodded at the end. ''I just hope you know what you're doing, Oz... to involve more people is to risk for the enemy finding out about everything we worked for many years.''

''Believe me, if I really wanted to find out what you're up to, I would have done it long ago. But I appreciate honesty so I am giving Ozpin the benefit of the doubt... for now.'' The witcher looked at the professor who only smiled.

''Very well, I think we have discussed enough about work. Why don't we have a little fun for tonight?''

The witcher sighed and nodded, turning around and heading in another direction. Ironwood let out a sigh and looked at Ozpin.

''What a great way to start a relationship... why all of your employees jump straight for my neck?''

''Why don't you ask your Atlesian paladins and your military ships flying over Valean airspace, you might be surprised.'' said the professor with a smile that turned into a slight frown. ''I appreciate the effort; James I really do... but it would be a nice gesture if you at least asked me before doing things.''

The witcher got bored of listening to them and concentrated on the music, he sat down at an apparently empty table but when he turned his gaze in front of him there was a certain young girl with blond hair and white dress waiting for him with her open hand.

''Are you going to leave a lady waiting? That's impolite'' said Yang pretending to pout, the witcher rolled his eyes and took her hand.

''A lady, maybe... _a beautiful lady_, never.''

''_Ohh ~_ and which of the two am I? A beautiful lady? Or a lady and nothing more?'' She asked with a curious tone and a smile.

''It's best if you find out for yourself'' the witcher smirked as he pulled the blonde against him by the waist, Yang seemed to have no complaints.

''Ah, I like it when boys know how to take care of a girl.''

''Heh, I'm glad to be useful.''

''With a little luck, maybe even more than something useful.'' Yang's smile stretched across her lips as her eyes focused on the witcher's golden and cat-like eyes.

''how daring. That is not how a lady should talk.''

''That's because I am not. Being a lady is super boring.''

"Oh, I've noticed, don't worry." The witcher smiled as he tangled his fingers in Yang's soft hair.

''Speaking of talking... is everything alright? I saw you talking to General Ironwood and I don't think it's a good idea to start a bad relationship with a general of the greatest military nation in all of Remnant." Yang laughed.

''He... just said a few things I didn't agree with.'' he lied, hiding the important nature of his conversation with the general and the director of Beacon. Lance is not a person that likes to keep secrets but yet secrets are necessary to maintain peace among the population, he knew... more importantly in a world where monsters can feel negative emotions, students might get the wrong idea.

''I see... well, don't let it get in your head, yes? I don't want to have to go to war against an entire nation because my idiot friend had a fight with General Ironwood.''

''Hah, would you go to war with me for that?'' the witcher snorted.

''Of course! Ruby wouldn't doubt it either.'' Lance detected a certain seriousness in the blonde's voice, to which he only replied with a laugh.

''How entertaining you are.''

''Just wait for us to be alone.'' Yang grinned mischievously.

The witcher smiled the same way and raised an eyebrow. ''Are you that straight forward with all the boys? Or is it just the handsome ones?''

''With none, I am like that only with the _most_ handsome of boys.'' replied the blonde pressing her body against the body of Lance.

''Are you saying that I am one of the most handsome?''

''Hmmm, I don't know. I think it's best if you find out for yourself.'' Yang earned a subtle laugh from Lance.

''Point taken''

After a moment the young man sighed and raised an eyebrow with a skeptical look at the girl. ''How is it that you always smell like gunpowder no matter what you're wearing?''

Yang's cheeks flushed a little due to embarrassment. ''Are you sniffing me?''

''Witcher senses, hard not to. Although I can smell the perfume.''

''I make my own cartridges for Ember Celica, that in addition to firing them makes the smell very noticeable, Weiss also says the same thing about the smell.'' she said with a frown.

''I see...''

''Do you have any problem with that?'' the blonde asked immediately. The witcher shook his head as they turned their bodies in a twirl in the middle of the ballroom.

''Not at all. I like girls with explosive...personalities.

''Pfftt... was that a pun?''

''I'm trying to learn from you.''

''Please _do_ try harder.''

''Pshh, sure. Try not to embarrass yourself first.'' The witcher smiled while mocking her.

''Hey, my jokes are good.'' she said sounding as she was offended but it was a false tone, Lance could tell.

''Whatever you say, blondie.''

Both continued to dance in silence for a while longer until eventually they both got bored and decided to leave the dance floor to see Weiss who was sitting alone on one side. Yang frowned and approached her with Lance following behind her until the sight of Ruby alone near the punch caught his attention.

"I'll go find something to drink, catch you up later." The Lance said, Yang turned her head to him and nodded with a smile.

The witcher walked and smiled at Ruby, she responded by smiling the same way and nodding slightly, a young blonde kid stood next to Ruby and let out an exhausted sigh.

''I see that you hide in the punch bowl too.''

''yuuuup'' Ruby replied making a pop sound at the end without looking away from the dance floor feeling uncomfortable. The blond raised his glass near Ruby.

''To the socially awkward'' the phrase earned a chuckle from Ruby while she raised her own glass of drink to collide with his, making a satisfying "clink"

''Well, even the misfits have friends, that says a lot about inclusion around here.'' the witcher mocked with a soft voice while pouring a glass for himself

''Oh! I know you, you're the guy who kicked Cardin's ass the other day. You are Lance!''

''And you must be Jaune, the clumsy leader of the JNPR team.'' he said while he finished pouring and looked at Jaune.

''He-hey I'm trying to improve! And besides who told you that?!''

''Weiss. She also says that she's upset about your repeated awkward attempts to take her to the dance. Although in my opinion you seem like a nice guy.'' he said before taking a sip, when he drank a chill ran down his back as he growled with clear disgust for the drink. ''Gah! Too sweet...'' the witcher took out a small metal bottle out of one of his pockets inside his suit, it didn't seem to be one of those bottles in which he stored his potions. He opened it and poured some amber liquid into the drink.

''What's that?'' Ruby asked curiously as he watched the witcher put the bottle back in his pocket.

''Mahakaman spirit. It's a strong alcohol that I use to make my potions, it tastes very good when diluted.''

''Ugh, you look like my uncle Qrow taking alcohol out of his jacket.'' Ruby snorted, the witcher laughed at this.

''Quiet, I don't get drunk...often, this is just a little too sweet for my taste.'' He took a sip once again and nodded in approval ''So, Jaune... it didn't work with the Ice Queen, didn't it?''

Jaune sighed sadly as he directed his gaze to the dancefloor. ''meeh... she's fine, Neptune's pretty cool with her so It's good... I get why she went with him.''

Ruby turned her head to see him ''What do you mean?''

''Well, c'mon not many people can pull off blue hair'' the witcher raised an eyebrow in confusion

''Is hair color a sign of dominance on this planet?''

"No, I mean... Weiss came to the dance alone." Ruby interrupted, Jaune almost drowned in his own drink when he heard that.

''Uh what?!''

Lance nodded slightly. "Right, she's been talking to other people but no one with blue hair that I've seen, look over there.'' He said pointing at Weiss with his chin. She was trying to arrange some flowers to look asymmetrical on a table while Yang was trying to talk to her.''

Ruby sighed ''Yeah, she said she had too much to focus on to worry about boys'' The witcher watched Weiss as she looked at the flowers in defeat and sadness while his attention was caught by Blake, Blake's blonde faunus friend and blue-haired boy who were talking and laughing

Jaune growled angrily at the sight ''Hold. My. Punch.'' He said as he gave Ruby the drink and headed for Neptune.

''Should we do something? Could end badly.'' Lance asked.

"Nah, Jaune is practically harmless." Ruby shrugged. "Besides, he is not that dumb as to start a fight in the middle of a dance with Weiss watching, they'll be fine."

"If you say so." The witcher nodded as he sipped his mixture and smiled. ''How about you?''

''What about me?'' sighed Ruby looking at the others while they had fun at the dance.

"Are you going to stay here all night looking like a wet puppy?" Said the witcher sharply but with a relaxed tone so it didn't came off as bad. The girl shrugged.

''I don't know how to dance to this kind of music... it doesn't really perk my interest either so meeeh...''

''I understand... although you could try talking to someone, at least try to seem a little less pathetic.''

''You mean less pathetic than I am right now talking to you?'' Ruby smiled wickedly as she turned her head to look at him.

Lance laughed. ''Good one, little red riding hood.''

''Yeah well... there's not much hood now... just red.

''The effort is what counts.'' said the young witcher earning a laugh from Ruby and after that there was a quiet awkward interval, since both wanted to say something, Ruby encouraged herself to speak first.

''Are you-''

''I'm thinking about it.'' the witcher immediately replied by cutting her dry. Ruby tilted her head. Lance looking at the dance.

''Thinking about it? About what?''

''You were going to ask if I was going to stay...'' Lance turned his neck to see Ruby in the eyes ''I'm... considering it.''

Ruby stared at those golden eyes, eyes that focused on the party happening around her, eyes that although she had learned in the course of these last weeks how young those eyes were... they were eyes that had seen and witnessed many things, eyes that were looking for a break maybe. She smiled and nodded, leaned a little to his side and grabbed one of his fingers, the index. The witcher was surprised by this... but said nothing, he just let it be.

''I think it would be a good idea. I'm glad you at least give it some thought.'' Ruby said softly.

''Well, I'm glad that you're glad then.'' the witcher replied, scanning the room with his eyes once again, he quickly realized that the dwarves alcohol and local drinks should _not_ be mixed. ''Ugh... I gotta go to the bathroom, be back in a sec'' he said with a serious tone, Ruby giggled and he nodded as she watched as the young man who was moving quickly towards the nearest bathroom.''

Ruby sighed for a while and decided to go upstairs and spend some time with her sister who contemplated the peace of the dance from above, Yang noticed her presence and smiled at her as she looked down.

''You know... I think we needed this.''

Ruby nodded and looked down at the people, simply enjoying the night and talking, a relaxed mood. The redhead smiled when she saw her friend Penny dancing, although with the company of her Atlas bodyguards.

''Yes, and you did a great job planning it too.''

''Aww thanks'' Yang came over and hugged his sister on the side Ruby tried to struggle out of it without success. ''It was not me though, Weiss did a lot too.''

They both looked at Weiss sitting and smiled when they saw Neptune approaching her to speak to her

Looks like Jaune did talk to him. Ruby thought.

A sigh from Yang diverted Ruby from her thoughts ''tomorrow it's back to work.''

The younger sister shrugged ''I'm sure we can handle gets thrown at us.'' her attention was stolen by the crowd laughing below, a smile peeked over the redhead's lips at the sight of the blonde student from JNPR wearing a dress. ''Except for that.''

The sisters watched the entertaining display, laughing from time to time. After a while the sight from Yang was captured by the witcher appearing from a hallway who was surprised to see Jaune and the JNPR show as he laughed silently, Yang blushed slightly as she realized that it was unable to stop looking at him.

''You're watching him very carefully.'' Ruby snorted, rubbing the blonde's arm with her elbow.

''It's not true…'' she tried to object and placed her gaze to the other side.

''My older sister fell in love with a handsome boy? Hee-hee ~'' her younger sister mocked her; Yang just sighed.

''Stop it, you're saying nonsense... besides he'll surely leave in a few days so there is no point in thinking about it.'' she confessed in disappointment.

''And still here you are.''

''And still here I am... this sucks.'' she sighed with sadness.

''Does it bother you that you may not see him again?''

"It bothers me to know that he's not even interested in looking for a reason to stay. He is... so careless, so calm.''

''That he is... but won't it be because that thing about emotions he said?''

''I think he can still feel things...at least that's what he shows off''

"You like him, don't you?" Ruby asked with brutality, Yang shrugged a little, her cheeks blushing.

''I don't know... he's cool and all... but... it seems as if nothing really matters to him. He does seem care about some stuff but actually-''

''He's just living the moment... it becomes difficult to have an exciting life. That's what he said.'' Ruby recalled. Yang pursed her lips.

''Do you think so? Nothing really deserves his attention?'' Yang asked annoyed.

''I think he just doesn't realize... you should be a little more... direct with him.''

''Why is my little sister giving me advice on how to talk to boys?'' Yang looked at his sister with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Ruby laughed at the question and shrugged. ''I don't know, it's what I think it you should do... hmmm'' when she looked back at the witcher she found him talking to Ozpin with a serious frown, it was obvious that it was not a pleasant conversation. ''You should go with him.''

Yang saw him and let her desire to smile play along. ''You better be right.'' The blonde straightened herself and began to go down the stairs. It was difficult between the music but she could overhear the hostile nature of the conversation between them.

''Please, Lance, I know that anyone would be anxious after what I told you but now is not the time, the students are enjoying a unique moment of their time here at the academy, I beg you, _please_ respect this opportunity for them.'' the teacher pleaded with sad eyes, the witcher rolled his eyes.

''There are several things that annoy me Ozpin, stupid people ignoring danger is one of them. I refuse to be part of this if you are going to keep me in the dark.''

''I know and, _again_, forgive me... just one more day, it's all I ask. I promise you that tomorrow I will tell you everything.'' the man begged for the last time.

''What's going on here? Ozpin?''

''Miss Xiao Long. Lance and I were just having a-''

''Disagreement... again. What's going on?'' The witcher's eyes drifted to the blonde who was immediately drawn back in embarrassment due to being approached with such rudeness.

''A-ahh... umm well... I wanted to know if you would like to hang out with me a little.'' she said while nervously fiddling with her fingers.

The witcher stared at her and sighed as he dropped that hostile attitude to replace it with a more relaxed and friendly look in his eyes. ''It'll be a pleasure. Come on.''

''Great!'' Yang said excitedly clasping her hands and quickly making a gesture to follow. ''Come, I want you to meet Neptune and Sun!''

"I'll follow." Lance smiled, leaving the dark and enigmatic stuff in the dark once again. He entered the friendly school environment with Yang and took the opportunity to socialize with the friends of the RWBY team although he quickly found that he didn't shared a lot in common with them and felt left out very quickly, obviously, the witcher hid it with ease under a mask of silence and a gentle look with his lips twisted in the form of a smile.

It took a while for Yang to realize that Lance was not contributing anything to the conversation. She approached him and touched his hand in a subtle manner. ''Everything's alright...?''

She asked speaking as low as she could trying to make herself clear in the room full of loud music. His witcher ears heard her perfectly.

''Of course.''

''Then why aren't you talking? you look like a statue.''

''I'm not used to talk this much, you know that. Besides these topics are totally unknown to me... who are the White Fang?'' Lance's eyes dropped a little to see her.

''Oh, they are an organization that fights for the rights of the faunus with brute force and terrorism to which Blake belonged a while ago. We faced them several times and we think they are planning something but we don't know what... we just know that has something to do with the southeast of Vale''

''Why do you tell me this? Isn't this some kind of... confidential information?''

"We keep it a secret, yes... but I think it's safe to tell you... it's not like you're going to care anyway." Yang said with a shrug, the witcher smiled.

''Hmm, my drink would have been fine with that cold ice," he said, earning a laugh from Yang in response. ''I'll stay.'' he said coolly not looking at her.

Yang stopped laughing and cut herself dry. Her eyes blinked rapidly at the surprise and met his. ''B-But ... you said that-''

''I know what I said …'' the witcher took a moment to sigh. ''But... But it's nice here... it's nice to walk around places without people giving me disgusted looks or insults just because of who I am... or if they think that way at least they don't say it carelessly... I don't know, it's strange... a warm feeling.'' Lance touched his chest and breathed through his mouth.

Yang could only smile at what he said, she was unable to get a hold of herself as she took the witcher's hand and squeezed it. ''I... I'm glad...''

''Hmm... I thought you didn't like me that much. I've seen how you look at me when I talk about killing people...''

''No... Don't mention that, please, you're killing the moment. here in Remnant that kind of conflict is not '_common currency_'.'' Yang said disgusted. ''Whatever you had to do you did it because you had no choice and I can understand that. Let's leave it at that.''

''Right...'' the witcher bit his lip, knowing that he had killed the vibe...

The usual arrogant, ironic and cynical way of speaking and acting of witchers usually brought up these kinds of moments and he knew it... but after all there was a reason for witchers to be like that and that was never to trust anyone... you never know when people want to gain your trust just to stab you in the back and steal the few crowns that you carry... Lance realized that this world was not like that, there were people he could trust besides other colleagues...

"I'm sorry." The witcher apologized, squeezing Yang's hand back without saying anything else. The blonde just saw him and noticed the expression of internal conflict on his face and smiled.

''It's okay don't worry about it. I'm glad you decided to stay... and besides it's not like I would've let you go anyways''

''hah? You say you think you have power over me?''

''Oh, baby, _I know_ I have power over you.''

''And how's that?''

''You wouldn't be holding my hand, right?''

The witcher looked down and contemplated for a few seconds the bond that held them together and snorted, letting air go between his teeth. ''Whatever you say Yang.''

''Hee-hee-hee ~'' Yang snuggled against him and stood on her tiptoes to reach his cheek and kiss him.

''Whoa, what's going on here?'' Weiss said noticing the situation. ''Hey, no thinking about boys, tomorrow is the big day and we can't afford distractions''

"Mind your own business Weiss, you already have Neptune." Replied the witcher with a smirk.

Weiss and Neptune blushed as Sun, Blake and Yang started laughing their asses off.

''Well said, dude!'' Sun approved with a smile and raised his fist in the direction of Lance who looked at the fist in confusion before raising his in a fist bump, understanding the slang.

Between laughter and more dances some of the guests were starting to leave, the witcher spent the rest of the night in the company of the blonde until he noticed Professor Glynda Goodwitch walking towards them, Lance quickly separated from Yang.

''I hope you're not corrupting my students, Mr. Lance. They have a bright future ahead of them and they don't have time to spend in... _meaningless romances_.'' the teacher grinned. Yang blushed deeply while Lance just laughed.

''It seems that you are the one who needs a romance in your life, Goodwitch... is everything all right?'' Lance was able to notice a faint sign of distress in her eyes.

The teacher shook her head. ''The General Ironwood said he was going be back some time ago but never appeared, you two didn't happen to see him by chance, right?''

"No... but now that you mention it, I haven't seen Ruby either... she was supposed to say goodbye to the guests." Yang replied.

The witcher rested his chin in his hand and came to a single conclusion.

...

In the cold of the night the witcher followed the tracks made by Ruby's heels.

''How can you be sure that my sister's steps are?

''Irregular, as if she was uncomfortable walking with those and...'' Lance stopped to sniff the air. ''Scent of roses, sweat and male perfume... Ruby and Ironwood, gotta be.''

Both women stopped in their places to watch him, astonished.

''Did you just sniffed my sister?''

''And the General?''

Sigh ''yes, I did. Come on!'' he said with annoyance. The two blondes followed behind until they reached Vale's communications tower. And they stopped behind the witcher who knelt in front of a body lying on the floor.

''Oh God, he's an Atlas soldier!'' Glynda said surprised.

''is he-''

''He's alive... only knocked out, it seems that he was ambushed by the way his mouth is open, didn't have time to raise its aura and brace for the impact. There are no signs of fighting either. Something is happening, no doubt about it.'' confirmed the wolf as he put his hand to his ankle and lifted the sleeve from his pants to reveal a hidden dagger with a sheath attached to his ankle. Yang raised an eyebrow at this.

''Do you always carry that there?''

''Never know. Come on.'' He said, wielding the knife on his right hand.

Without wasting time, the three entered the tower and were able to observe the other soldiers scattered by the reception of the tower, all of them unconscious a slight tremor shook the building and put them on guard the three.

''What was that?!'' Yang asked.

''A blast, last floor, still fighting, Ruby is fighting the intruder.''

''What?! How can you know that?'' Glynda questioned.

''shots of his weapon, very distinctive. Where's the elevator?''

''Over here!'' Glynda made a gesture with her hand for them to follow her as the three got into one of the elevators and began to climb using Goodwitch's identification, the building shaked a couple of times and then... silence.

"The intruder escaped, we're late." Lance sighed.

"Damn!" Glynda growled with frustration as she stood in front of the two in order to be the first to cross the door.

Yang took the opportunity that the teacher's gaze was not on the two of them and she reached Lance's hand to squeeze it once more. The witcher looked at her sideways and squeezed hers back with a soft sigh.

The elevator door opened to reveal Ironwood and Ruby in the middle of the room.

Yang and Lance separated their hands and left the inside of the elevator with Goodwitch.

''Hmm, it seems that we missed the party.'' confirmed the witcher with disappointment.


End file.
